Definitely Unexpected
by saiyanchic1234
Summary: No one knows what to do when the unexpected happens... especially if its never happened before. Sam/Baird pairing. Rated M for language and brief, mild sexual content. WARNING: THIS FIC TAKES PLACE AFTER GEARS OF WAR 3 AND THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR GEARS 3 IN HERE. FINISH THE GAME FIRST THEN READ THIS... PLEASE! DON'T WANT TO RUIN ANYTHING FOR YA. THANK YOU AND ENJOY!
1. Chapter 1 - Rude Awakening

**WARNING**: This fic is set about 6 months **after** the conclusion of Gears of War 3. **THERE WILL BE SPOILERS**! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

**NOTE/DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Gears of War or these characters, yadah yadah, you know the drill. This fic is rated M for language and a brief moment alluding to sexual content (it'll make sense when you read it.) It isn't citrusy, so no worries about graphic stuff. That's not really my thing.

I tried to keep the characters as close to their game selves as possible. I might come back and add some stuff in here after I finish reading the Karen Traviss novels, which I highly HIGHLY recommend to anyone who's more interested in getting to know the meat of the story behind these games. They are SOOO good!

Please comment and favorite if you like it. I'm open to feedback but please no bashing. If you don't like the pairing, sorry. I think they're friggin' perfect for each other. Enjoy! ^_^

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**_Definitely Unexpected_**

Chapter 1

She wasn't even really awake yet, but already Sam could tell something was off. She shifted a bit, finding that her clothes clung to her as if she'd been sweating all night. And she realized that the sheets were all matted at the bottom of her mattress. She opened her eyes a bit as a twinge of sunlight winked at her through the open window across her room. She frowned. It wasn't late enough to cause much heat yet. But even still, the air felt... weird; heavier almost. Then again, everything felt heavier. The air, her clothes, her arm...

_My arm..._

She froze as her eyes finally started to focus... and just in time to notice the muscular, obviously manly arm thrown over her shoulder. The long-fingered hand lay relaxed next to hers, barely touching it. She was also suddenly aware of the other arm snaked under her neck and up under the pillow, almost cradling her head.

_Maybe I'm dreaming... maybe..._

She shifted a bit, almost reflexively out of nerves, then instantly stopped when the movement triggered a slight moan and shifting behind her. A heavy and sleepy sigh ruffled the back fringes of her hair.

_Shit... I don't think this is a dream. _She slowly moved her hand and attempted to lift the guy's arm so she could squirm out. She had almost managed to get his arm over her hip when,

"Morning, Sam."

She jumped and half sat up, half turned, though she didn't really need to. She knew the voice. And that was what started the panic. She turned and locked eyes with Damon Baird.

_Nope! Definitely NOT a dream!_

She practically jumped out of bed as he raised himself up on his elbow, running his other hand over his face.

She just stared at him. "...Baird..."

A sheepish look inched onto his face. "That is the rumor." When she didn't say anything, he sighed. "You don't remember anything from last night, do you." It wasn't a question. Of course, Baird had an annoying way of making everything sound like a fact.

She shook her head. He grimaced.

"Of course not." He sat up and swung his legs over the bed. He wheeled around a bit, his back to her. "Where the fuck are my goggles?" Her usual annoyance at him was starting to wake up. She straightened up and gathered her wits for a second while he looked for his clothes.

"Why?" She asked. He turned back towards her.

"Well if you like them that much, you can keep them, but I typically need them for my soldering and welding work." He turned away again just as she spotted his goggles on the nightstand.

"That's not what I meant... and here." She tossed them to him. "I meant what happened?"

He bent down and snatched up his shirt and pushed his arms and head through the holes. He turned and shot her a sarcastic look.

"Let's see: we woke up in the same bed; you're in your tank top and underwear; I'm in my boxers; we're sweaty; our hair's messed up; and the sheets look like we tried to tie sailor knots in them with oven mitts on our hands." He looked at her for a second before nodding and making a face. "Yeah, we _totally_ didn't have sex last night." He continued his search. From his tone, she couldn't tell if he was pissed or upset.

"Baird-"

"Damn it! Are we sure that Lambent blast killed those wild Tickers too? You know the ones that eat ammo and shit?"

"Baird."

"Because I swear one of them came in here and ate my pants!"

"Baird!" He stopped and turned to her. She was officially frustrated now, so feeling normal considering she was around him. "What the hell happened?"

He blinked. "Sam, we slept together. Anya and Marcus' engagement party was last night, remember? We all drank a little – well, _we_ drank a little. Pretty sure Jace passed out before dinner and Carmine was dancing like a chicken at one point. Dizzy played some music – he's nuts with that guitar we found – and, when things started to settle down, you and me were walking towards our separate places. We made eye contact, and... well," he stooped to grab his pants from under the bed and threw them up to accentuate "BOOM!" He tried to smirk but she could see that he was getting uncomfortable. Something was up. Baird quickly stepped into his pants as she moved around the bed, fists slightly clenched.

"Did you jump me or something?"

His head snapped up so fast she thought he'd pass out, mouth open with indignation.

"WHAT?! How could you... even think that I would... WHAT?!" Now he was mad. Good, cause so was she. He zipped up his pants and stepped towards her, his voice showing he was trying to be patient.

"Look, Sam, we drank some, there was chemistry or it was the moonlight or, hell I don't know, we both liked the same song, and it just happened. Okay, I mean, come on. I'm pretty sure even Carmine got some last night from that red head he's been eyeing all month." He smirked and turned back for his boots.

Sam was livid now but at what she wasn't quite sure... and that just made it worse. She grabbed the pillow and hit Baird in the back of the head.

"Hey, what..?"

"Why you, Baird? That's what I don't get." He gave her a confused look.

"Why... me...?"

"Yeah! How did I end up in the sack with you?"

He just blinked. She scoffed.

"I mean, come on! We're constantly bickering and getting on each other's nerves. You don't respect me at all. And I can't stand you. So why the bloody hell did I wake up next to you?!"

He licked his lips. "Sam, I think they call that -

She cut him off. Her panic was starting to take the better of her. "No! It makes no sense whatsoever. I would never jump in bed with you, no matter how drunk I was, and you have made it very clear that I am one of the most undesirable, nagging, repulsive women to walk the face of Sera!"

A look crossed his face that she dismissed immediately. "Sam. I don't - "

"I KNOW! I know you don't. And neither do I. So why are we here?! Why the fuck are we - "

"Sam, would you SHUT UP for TWO SECONDS?!" She stopped dead, realizing that Baird was red in the face. He was trying not to lose it but she could see he was losing _that_ battle already.

Sam just shook her head. "No! I can't because it doesn't make sense. _WE_ don't make sense. There was no warning for this! No signs, no bloody flirting, nothing. Just got drunk one night then better hold onto your knickers, eh?"

Baird lost it. He stomped up to his side of the bed and pushed his finger towards her. "Look, I don't know what the hell is wrong with you. Where are you getting all this shit about respect and being undesirable and all that? Huh? And what the hell does flirting have to do with anything?!"

She started to say something but he waved his hand and cut her off.

"NO! no. Have you ever stopped for one second and thought that maybe I'm an especially sarcastic bastard towards you because I'm attracted to you and have no fucking idea how to talk to a chic that _isn't_ a nag or gross or stupid? That I'm used to those kind of girls but I'm not sure how to deal with actually liking a woman who's smart and strong and sexy as hell... huh? _Actually liking her_, not just wanting to pin her up against a locker for a quickie every now and then, but actually _liking_ her?! Have you EVER thought about that?"

Sam couldn't register what was going. She just stood there, shaking her head, face squished up in confusion and panic. "But I don't even like you!

Baird's face registered the blow before she even realized what had come out of her mouth. Her eyes widened a bit as his dropped to the bed between them.

_Shit..._

He nodded his head a bit. "Yeah... yeah I got that." He turned and clumsily shoved his feet into his boots. He was shaking.

_Oh shit..._

"Baird, I'm..." He walked towards the door and turned back slightly, waiting. Sam opened her mouth but couldn't seem to finish. His head bobbed.

"Yeah... Just forget it. I'll see you around." With that, Baird walked out and tossed the door shut. It didn't bang but the sound of it closing was definitely final. Sam couldn't breathe. She sat down on the bed and thrust her head into her hands, gripping the front parts of her hair.

_Shit shit shit_

Her eyes stung with hot tears. Her throat burned. Her chest ached.

_And why am I bloody crying?! What the hell is this? What is going on?_

She curled against the pain and sobbed silently into her hands.

_Oh God... what have I done?_

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On the other side of camp, Baird walked into his own shack and looked around. He needed to eat, but he wasn't hungry. He should change, but what for? He wanted a cold shower and for someone to just beat the hell out of him. He never thought he'd see the day when he actually missed having something to fight. Kept his mind off every day, normal shit. He ripped off his goggles and plunked down on the bed, running his hands through his hair while Sam's words ricocheted around in his head.

_Why did I wake up next to _you_?!...WE don't make sense... I don't even like you!_

Baird felt his heart drop into his stomach with that last one, remembering the practically disgusted look she had shot him. He nodded, feeling his chest contract.

"Yeah," he whispered, "yeah I got that..."

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Chapter 2 will be up shortly. Thanks for reading and I hope you're liking it so far. Please feel free to comment!


	2. Chapter 2 - Denial Ain't Just a River

Hi there! Thank you to those of you who have already reviewed and messaged me about this story. I love hearing from you guys! Hope you continue to like it.

**UPDATE:** Originally this fic was only going to have **three** chapters but, after realizing that some parts are more involved than I first thought - meaning this chapter was A LOT longer than I originally thought it would be - it will now have at _least_ **four** chapters and potentially a little snippet of a fifth. Depending on how long Chapter 4 becomes, it might be five solid chapters. We'll see.

Regardless, here's Chapter 2. Chapter 3 should be along very shortly. Enjoy! ^_^

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**Chapter 2**

~One Week Later~

_Damn it's hot today_.

Baird shielded his eyes against the sun. Even with his goggles on, it was intense. He, Marcus, Cole, and Carmine were on their bi-weekly supply run. At first, he hadn't really wanted to go; still wasn't in the mood for people after the lovely morning pillow talk he'd had with Sam last week. But he figured it was better than being stuck in camp where he kept running into her everywhere. Plus he missed the missions with Delta squad and this gave him a chance to hang out with just the guys again.

He squinted against the light and could just make out the factory district they were heading for coming over the hill.

_Ahhh it's not so bad. Maybe another couple hours of walking._

"WHOOOOOO! It's go time, baby! YEAH! Let's get this going, y'all!" Cole must have notticed the factory too. Baird couldn't help but grin and roll his eyes. Cole's boisterous nature always coaxed a smile out of him, no matter the situation. Whether in battle, securing the camp, or even doing friggin' laundry, Cole was always smiling and had some funny quip for anyone he came in contact with. Baird couldn't help remembering the speech the big guy gave over the loud speakers in Queen Myrrah's castle a couple of years ago.

_Poetry, sheer poetry. Man, now _that _was a crazy day._

He'd been through a lot with Cole. First being on Alpha Squad and the Lightmass Bomb operation... then the two of them deciding to officially join Delta and team up with Marcus... and Dom. They were like brothers.

It was this history that made him feel kind of guilty. Baird usually told Cole everything and he hadn't even mentioned the shit that went down with Sam to him yet. It was just hard to at camp because everyone was always within earshot and they never went on paired scouting parties anymore since Jace got injured and Carmine's radio had fizzled out, so he never had a chance to speak with Cole one-on-one.

_But I need to talk to someone. I feel like crap and, to be honest, I'm tired of thinking about it._

Her face beneath him that night flashed in his mind. He almost growled.

_And her..._

Marcus' gravely voice broke Baird out of his thoughts. "Cole, as much as I love the enthusiasm, you wanna NOT alert every Stranded outpost from here to the Jacinto sinkhole that we're on a supply run."

Baird glanced at Marcus and saw a slight smirk on his normally stoic face. Fenix would never admit it but he loved Cole. His easy going nature and fun spirit always made life seem a little less shitty than it really was... not to mention he was an absolute beast in a fight.

Cole turned around and threw his arms out, smiling. "Hey, sorry Marcus. Can't help it. I look forward to these runs. Nothing but some of my favorite boys, little artillery, and the outdoors. MmmMMMM! Couldn't be better." Marcus just shook his head.

"We're always outdoors now, Cole Train," Carmine piped up. "What we really need is a thrashball field and some jerseys. Whenever we get back to Hanover, we'll have to clear out the stalks and play a real game."

Baird groaned. "Oh man, do not get him -

Cole sidled up to Carmine and gave him a high five. "Oh yeah! See now _that's_ what I'm talking about! Gottta get my stadium back up, baby! It's a holy place. Ha ha! I'll have to make a special jersey for you, Baird."

Baird glanced at him. "Oh yeah?"

Cole smiled from ear to ear. "Yeah, it's going to have a cougar eating a shark on it. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Baird smirked. "Nice. Very nice. Guess I know what we'll be using for firewood that night."

Cole gave Baird a friendly shove in the shoulder before turning back to Marcus. "Besides, I'm still revved up from the big news, baby!"

Marcus nodded and gave a thoughtful smirk. "You're not the only one."

Baird pounced. He hadn't had a reason to mess with Fenix in weeks. "Awww now that's sweet! So how exactly did it happen? Did Anya sweep you off your feet? Carry you off to bed? Then what demand you marry her?"

Marcus grunted a bit as they jumped down from a slight outcropping into the shade of a cliff. "No, we were talking about my nightmares. I'd had a really bad one that night, about my Dad and Dom. So we were talking through it. I ended up asking her about her mom and how she'd handled it. And just other shit that's gone down in the time we've known each other." He grimaced. "So you know, emotions were flying everywhere... and that led to, uh-" He glanced at the other three and cleared his throat, " - other stuff."

Carmine coughed. "CUUHH comfort sex CCUUH HUGgh!

Marcus shot him a sidelong glare that said "yeah but leave it there, kid."

He continued. "And afterward, I guess I just realized it was finally time to ask her." He took a swig from his canteen. "Took me long enough. I found that goddamn ring before we boarded Sovereign."

Carmine bobbed his head a bit. "Hey that's not bad. I mean how long have you two been together anyway?"

Marcus studied his canteen. "Since I was 20, so... just over 18 years."

Baird couldn't help but laugh at the kid. Carmine was still wearing that friggin' helmet of his, but Baird could practically hear the kid's mouth drop open underneath it.

"Almost 20 years?! What the hell, man?! What took you so long? You should have asked her to marry you before E-Day at least!"

Marcus gave him a look. "Oh yeah because I'm so good at expressing my feelings, Carmine."

Cole gave a short chuckle. "Only on the battlefield, baby."

Carmine started shuffling under his glare, so Marcus broke it off and just shook his head. " I don't know. Things were more complicated in the beginning... Or at least I made them complicated. She was my superior officer, I was enlisted...Then E-Day happened, then I got sent to the Slab, then the Light Mass Bomb and Jacinto..."

He ran a massive hand over his do-rag, suddenly looking a bit older and worn to Baird than he ever had. "Shit... fucking excuses is all I ever had." He stopped and looked up at the cliffs above them. "I guess I was just always afraid I'd ask her and then something would happen to me." He looked back down and studied his Lancer. "I couldn't do that to her... not after all she's been through and definitely not after all the stuff she's helped _me_ get through."

No one said anything for a second, but before Baird could chime in, Cole clapped Marcus on the shoulder. "Well good on ya, Marcus. I know you guys'll be happy. And you know Dom's gotta be doing a jig up in front of the Pearly Gates."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. Thanks Cole." They pressed on.

Cole hoisted his Hammerburst onto his shoulder. "Gotta admit though, I still wasn't expecting the news the other night. Whew! Threw me for a loop."

Carmine snorted. "Yeah, I mean I don't think anyone was expecting it. Well maybe Sam but that's because she and Anya are 'besties'."

Baird bristled at the mentioning of her. _Damn it! I friggin' hate this!_

"Yeah, speaking of dear old Sammy..." Cole turned to Baird. "What's going on with you two?"

Baird put up his usual wall. He made a face. "Who? Me? And her? Nothing. Why?"

Cole didn't buy it for a second and Baird knew it. That man had a bullshit detector as calibrated and well kept as his kit.

"Because a week ago, you two were giving each other crap all the time, never let up. But since the morning after the engagement party, you two won't even look each other in the eye. And-" Cole gave Baird a knowing look. "- I saw you go into her place with her that night."

Marcus' eyebrows actually raised a bit at that. Carmine, however, busted out laughing.

"WHAT?! You and Sam?!" Carmine just shook his head as he kept walking.

Baird glowered at his back."What's that supposed to mean, helmet man? Yeah! Ok, so Sam and I did it that night. What's it to you guys?"

Carmine cut everyone off by continuing to chuckle. "I just never saw that coming."

Baird grimaced and murmured, "That's what she said."

Carmine lost it at that but Marcus and Cole had now stopped and turned around. They knew it wasn't meant as a joke. Cole spoke first.

"Damon, what do you mean by that?"

Baird gave a frustrated sigh. Cole only called him by his first name when he wanted Baird to cut his usual shit and be real for a second.

_Damon..._ Sam's voice from that night echoed in his head. He frowned and kicked at a stone to his right.

"Nothing just..." That disgusted look on her face flashed behind his eyes and he shook it away. "Nothing. Let's just get to that damn factory before we lose too much daylight." He tried to stalk past them, but Cole and Marcus were easily twice his size individually; together they formed a wall. Cole gave him a worried look.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Seriously now. What happened?" Baird shifted angrily on his feet. Carmine had finally stopped laughing and was apparently now aware that serious shit was going on.

Baird let out a growl of frustration. "Fine! We did it. A lot. All night actually. It was... fucking incredible. Never had a night like that in my life. We fell asleep. She woke up and flipped her shit that it was _me_ in bed with her. And while we were arguing, I hinted that I-" He shifted his feet. "-Well I might have alluded to the fact that I... might actually like her, and she shot me down." He glanced up, embarrassed. "Like bad. So I got dressed and left. There. End of fairy tale. Let's move on." He took a step forward. The human wall didn't move.

Cole looked at him, absolutely serious but gentle as always. "Damon, man, I'm sorry."

Marcus shot him a sympathetic look before asking, his voice low but not menacing, "Was it because of Dom?"

Baird shook his head and shrugged. "Nah, she, uh... heh, she made it very clear it was because of _me_."

_To be honest, I would have been ok with it being about Dom._

His two oldest friends gave him helpless smirks and seemed to be searching for something to say. Carmine chimed in suddenly.

"So... what are you gonna do?" Baird looked at him, wanting to snap at him and call him a moron for asking such a stupid question.

But he stopped short. That was the whole problem. Baird wasn't sure. He'd liked Sam since he'd met her. Her fiery attitude and toughness were a major turn on, not to mention her voice and her body. She was hot, no question there. But as he'd gone on missions with her, fought beside her, watched her comfort Dom and admire him from afar, he'd seen that the toughness was really courage and strength that he wished he had in himself sometimes. He'd meant it when he'd said he had no idea where she was getting the no respect thing from him. That's what he had the most for her: respect. She was her own person and never let anyone else tell her otherwise.

_Shit... I like her a lot more than I thought_.

Baird grimaced at Carmine, wishing he could see the kid's face. "I'm not going to do anything. There's nothing I can do. She doesn't like me. I... repulse her in that way, so I'll leave her be. I'm sure after a while things'll just go back to normal. We'll be back to biting each other's heads off again in no time."

His three friends seemed at a loss for words. He shrugged, mustered the best smile he could, and walked around Cole and Marcus.

"Come on. That factory isn't going to raid itself, you know. I'd say it's pirate time once again, right, Cole?"

Cole nodded slowly. "You know it, baby." His voice was somber.

Baird ignored the sad look on Cole's face, hefted his Lancer in his hands, and marched on, feeling three sets of eyes on his back the rest of the way.

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"Ahhh how quickly we return to the old," Sam mused as she and Anya walked towards the stream, holding their separate baskets of clothes. It was hot as a furnace today, so she was almost glad they got to mess around in the water for a few hours. Most of the boys were out hunting down supplies but Jace and Dizzy had stayed behind to take wall and tower duty, make sure everything was secure while the gals did a few chores.

Anya gave her a look. "What do you mean?"

After the Lambent had been destroyed, Delta had radioed Hoffman at Anvil Gate and asked for orders. They all decided that the best thing to do was get the wounded back to him for treatment on the remaining Ravens, while those that were well enough would travel in groups in 50 mile stretches around Anvil Gate, looking for supplies, fertile crop grounds, building materials, etc. so they could start rebuilding stations and bases around the planet and potentially helping the Stranded, if the buggers let them.

Sam had been eternally grateful that Delta squad had decided to stay together. Even without Dom, they all knew they were all each other had. She, Anya, Marcus, Jace, Carmine, Baird, and Cole, along with Dizzy and a couple of other younger recruits had traveled now half their distance to Anvil Gate. They were making their way across a section of the Deadlands now; her home territory. Their current camp and unofficial base was set up on the outskirts of a deserted Stranded aka Formers outpost. It had a fresh water stream and an oasis near it, so they had all the drinking water and bath water they needed. Problem was, when it came to laundry, there was no power in _this_ outpost. Their generator had long been stripped for parts and left to rust.

Sam grinned and scrunched her nose so Anya knew she was kidding. "Oh you know, now that the fighting's over, the guys go on supply runs, hunt for meat, and build shit, while us girls cook, keep things in order, and wash clothes." They set down their loads as they reached the bank. "Next thing you know, they'll be making lists for breeding rights."

Anya let out a laugh as she started washing her clothes. "Well thankfully we only have to do our own laundry and we all take turns cooking, though I notice Baird and Jace don't cook nearly as much. I honestly think Cole is afraid of Baird's cooking."

Sam tried her best to hide her winces every time she heard Baird's name. It had been a tough week, trying to avoid him all over camp, though that was down right impossible. She still couldn't bring herself to look him in the face, let alone talk to him. She shook that all away and refocused on her wash.

"Yeah and I guess Carmine does cook better than all of us combined anyway."

Anya nodded. "That's an understatement. Plus I'm safe on the breeding front. Forget that I can't have kids: I'd like to see some other guy even think about putting his hands on me. Marcus would..." she paused then lifted her eyebrows resignedly. "Yeah Marcus would kill him. Not a doubt in my mind."

Sam nodded. "Very true. Hey, congratulations again, love. I really hope you guys will be happy together."

Anya couldn't stop from grinning. "Oh I don't think the happiness thing will be a problem. We've technically been together for almost 20 years, so it's not like I'm not used to his moods and all that and he knows me better than he'll ever let on. But thank you. I'm so excited and... God, it's been such a long time coming. You know I was actually kind of surprised when he asked me. I figured we'd sort of reached an unspoken agreement that I wasn't going anywhere...and I'd be damned if I let him go anywhere either."

Sam cocked an eyebrow at her. "You really think he'd ever leave you?"

Anya shook her head. "No. I don't think he would. Dom once told me that, ever since our first night together after the Embry ceremony, Marcus hadn't even looked at another woman. ...After talking with Marcus last week about all the stuff we've had to go through, I believe him."

She glanced up at the tower above them and raised her voice a little. "OF COURSE IF I WAS TO CHOOSE ANOTHER MAN BESIDES MARCUS, IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE DIZZY." They both looked up as Dizzy's bearded, grinning face poked up over the side of the tower. He waved and tipped his hat.

"Now, Miss Anya, you trying to get me in trouble with your new hubby-to-be? You know Marcus would have a fit if he knew about us."

Anya grinned from ear to ear. "Then let's keep it just between us, eh, Diz?"

He laughed. "Sure thing, sweetheart, but we might want to change up our meeting spot, just in case." Both Sam and Anya laughed, waving to Dizzy as he tipped his hat and moved out of sight.

Anya shook her head as she started separating out her and Marcus' clothes. "He's crazy. I'm so glad Marcus and the others found him before the Lambent got him a few months ago. "

Sam nodded as she reached for another set of leggings. "Tough old bugger. And..." She cast a cheeky grin at Anya, "speaking of just between us..."

Anya furrowed her brow. "What?"

Sam's grin widened. "I've got to ask: what's Marcus like...? You know...?"

Comprehension slowly crept onto Anya's face. "You want to know what he's like in bed?"

Sam gave a decisive nod. "Yes!"

Anya shook her head and groaned . "Ah Sam..."

"Oh come on! I'm not asking for his favorite position. I mean what's he like when it's just you two." Sam grinned as she saw a slight blush light her friend's cheek. "Is he all super sweet and cuddly when you're with him?"

Anya burst out laughing and almost lost her shirt in the current. "Marcus and cuddly... I really didn't think I would _ever_ hear someone use those two words in the same sentence." She shook her head and took out a pair of men's briefs from the basket. "No he's definitely not cuddly. He's... a little more open and...softer with me, I guess, but we're not walking around the room, constantly having to touch each other."

Sam grinned as she rung out her last pair of leggings. "Awww so he's not a giant teddy bear like Cole?"

Anya scrunched up her nose. "No he's... more like a... grizzly bear who only let's _me_ pet him."

Sam nodded. "Gotcha. Your lovable grizzly bear, then." She shook her head and reached into the basket. "Well I'm glad for you. It's about bloody time and I know you guys will be happy." Her hand finally brushed cloth and she grabbed at it, pulling out her black bra.

She froze. It was the bra she was wearing the night she slept with Baird.

Since that night, she'd been having dreams, flashes of what had happened between them... and it was crazy. She remembered everything: his touch, his intensity...

_His eyes... _Even before that night, Sam had always thought Baird had nice eyes. A deeper blue than Marcus' and not as intense but there was a lot more behind them than Baird _ever_ let on.

But most of all, she remembered what he had said to her after the first time they had finished. He'd stroked her face and said she was beautiful. She'd never had a guy say that to her.

_Not the way he'd said it anyway. And not with that look on his face..._

Anya looked up, finally noticing that Sam had been holding her bra out in front of her like it was an artistic materpiece for about five minutes. "Hey? You ok?"

Sam looked at her, startled. She nodded quickly and plunged the garment into the water. "Yeah I'm fine."

Anya didn't buy it for a second and she knew it. That woman was used to having to stare at screens and listen to radio chatter to discern the reality of a situation... and she'd been in love with Marcus for almost 20 years. If anyone knew how to read people, it was Anya Stroud.

Anya watched her for a moment before continuing. "So what's up with you and Baird? Things have seemed a bit... I don't know, tense between you two lately. You guys aren't your typical bickering selves. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah it's fine... it's..." Sam sighed and let her shoulders slump in defeat. She shook her head, staring into the water rushing by her bare feet. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed to talk to someone and Anya was the closest thing she had to a best friend.

"Actually no. It's not fine. It's majorly fucked up." She sat back and put the wet bra in her "washed" basket. She studied her toes as Anya moved a bit closer.

"What's wrong, Sam?"

Sam just stared at her feet for a long minute, finding the words. "You know the night of your engagement party? Well..." Sam didn't understand why it was so hard to say this. "Well, from what he says, we had a bit to drink and then our inhibitions dropped and apparently so did our pants." She'd meant it to be funny but she realized how bitter and mad she sounded. Anya's mouth fell open.

"You slept with Baird?!" She asked in a hushed whisper.

Sam simply nodded.

"Oh my God, Sam, I had no idea!" She was smiling for a moment until she seemed to realize that Sam wasn't. Her grin faded, replaced with a look of thickening concern. "Wait, so why are things so tense then? Did something happen?"

Sam shook her head in frustration and a thousand other things.

"To be honest, Anya, I'm not sure what happened. The morning after... when I woke up and he had his arms around me, I just... I flipped out. I couldn't even remember what had happened the night before or why he was there. But as last week went on, I started remembering - " her throat suddenly started to swell. Anya inched a bit closer and put a hand on her shoulder. Sam looked at her, feeling the tears brimming in her eyes.

"Anya, he was... goddamn it, he was everything I've always thought he might be but can never completely see because all his bullshit. ...Anya, he cares about me. He cares like no other guy I've known and he had the balls or temper or whatever to admit it and I - " her voice cracked, bad. She drew her knees up to her chest.

"And I not only rejected him, I threw it back in his face and spit on it." The tears were starting to stream out now. She felt Anya's arm come around her shoulders. "I-I hurt him. And after he left, I..." She put her head down on her knees, trying to stop the tears from gushing out. Anya rubbed her arm and waited.

Sam sniffed and brought her head up, steeling herself against the waterworks and emotions coursing through her. "A part of me wanted to go after him but another part of me was scared shitless and still had no clue what happened. And then after a while, I just figured I didn't need to know. I mean, it's Baird, right? We're always at each other's throats. An-and he never takes anything seriously..." She sniffed and looked up at Anya. "...Right?"

Anya had a muddled look on her face, like she was trying to process everything Sam had just thrown at her. Sam waited, sniffling and wiping her eyes on her knees. She hadn't cried like this in years. They sat there for a few moments in silence, save for the rushing water at their feet. Finally, Anya turned back to her.

"Well, first, I think that Baird takes almost everything very seriously. Sometimes even too much. You know, I mean all his sarcasm and jokes and jabs at everyone is just a wall he puts up to make sure people don't see how serious he actually is. He... from the conversations I've had with him, he seems like a really decent guy; genuine and honest, sometimes brutally honest. I think he's... he's a lot like Marcus actually. He's lost so much and dealt with so much crap from the world that he doesn't open up to anyone anymore. Except maybe Cole but that's because Cole has proven that he's dependable and trustworthy. So it would make sense that you wouldn't really suspect that he had feelings for you until he said it outright. He never lets anything slip out. You know he wouldn't have said what he did about his feelings for you unless he meant it and felt that it needed to be said"

Sam nodded. "Yeah I do... and that's what scares me. Damn it, you should have seen his face when I shot him down. Looked like I'd stabbed him in the bloody heart."

She wiped her nose on her knee. "So what's the second thing?"

Anya shifted a bit, trying to word something right. "I guess I wanted to ask you about something."

"Ok..."

Anya furrowed her brow. "Why were you so upset about the fact that the feelings came out of nowhere? I mean, I get it to some degree, that you were thrown off by them... but I guess I'm wondering why that's such a big deal and something that is _still_ bothering you."

Sam blinked. "I don't know... I mean, I guess I've never really had to deal with anything like that."

"What? Someone springing hidden feelings on you?"

Sam grimaced. "Not just that, but in general. I know my limits and how to push them, so I have no surprises in the field. I don't typically trust people so I'm never surprised if they fail me. I mean I'm a sniper, for Pete's sake. I see things before they happen." She scoffed. "I'm not even sure I'm ever surprised by death..." She instantly stopped. "Well except for Dom's death, I guess..." She hugged her knees. "Didn't see that one coming... or didn't want to."

Anya nodded. "Do you think any of this has to do with Dom and your connection to him?"

Sam considered that then shook her head. "No. I mean, Santiago never loved me or cared for me the way I did for him. He was like you and Marcus: for him, it was Maria or nothing. I respected that, so I let it be. But no, it's been six months. I miss him but my 'love' for him isn't a problem with this." She paused briefly, Dom's suicide flashing through her mind for a second. She did miss him. He was a good man. She shook it away and refocused.

"I guess my point is I've never had to really deal with anything I wasn't already prepared for."

Anya studied her for a moment. "So...if you've experienced guys telling you their feelings before, why were you surprised by Baird's? Was it simply because of his declaration... or..." Anya waited until Sam looked at her. "Or because you weren't expecting something else?"

Sam was confused. "Like what?"

Anya pursed her lips. "Like _your_ feelings for him..."

Sam's heart stopped. "No... nonononononono ... that's..." She looked at her friend, completely incapable of articulating what her head was screaming.

_No! No no NO! He's annoying, a know-it-all, a righteous pain in the ass..._

Flashes ran through her mind: teasing him about the house in Hanover; his constant sarcasm...then his face and his words that night; his voice as he'd said her name; the gentle way he'd touched her face...

_No... no there's no bloody way... there's no..._

Sam looked back at Anya, eyes wide with panic and sudden, brutal understanding. Anya waited patiently but Sam's stubbornness suddenly kicked in.

_No._

Sam shook her head. She stood up and started collecting her clothes.

"Sam?" Anya walked over to her.

Sam shook her head again. "No. I don't have feelings for him. I was just thrown off by his sudden ability to express _his_ feelings. Hell, you know, even when he said he liked me, he was being a bit sarcastic." She knelt and picked up her baskets. "Must be hard wired."

She turned to Anya. "Sorry I didn't mean to worry you, but thank you for helping me work through it, love. Now I think I'll go see if Jace needs a break from the wall for a bit. Been needing to see the world from above ground level again for a while now. Puts things into perspective for me."

When Anya moved to touch her arm, she shied away. "Seriously, I'm fine, Anya. Thanks again!"

Before Anya could say anything, Sam strode off towards her house. Anya stared after her.

"Here, Miss Anya. Everything ok?"

She squinted up at Dizzy and nodded. "Yeah everything's fine, Diz, just fine." Dizzy waved then disappeared again. Anya turned back and watched Sam walk away before squatting down and continuing with her laundry. She shook her head as she shook out one of Marcus' tank tops.

"Yeah 'just fine,' my ass."

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. #3 should be up by tomorrow, maybe even this evening. Please continue to review and tell me what you think. I like the feedback! Cheers!


	3. Chapter 3 - One Way or Another

Hey there! Thank you once again to the folks who are reviewing and messaging me about this story. Glad you're all liking it so far.

**WARNING**: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEXUAL CONTENT. While it isn't a total lemon... it's suggestively citrus in the classiest way I could manage while still wanting to actually get through the full moment with these two. It's my first time writing a sex scene too, so hopefully it does the trick. REGARDLESS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

**UPDATE:** I have Chapter 4 outlined and should be starting on it tonight but I might take a break. I'm afraid my keyboard might spontaneously combust if I don't give it a bit of a break... but we'll see. It might just have to suck it up if I get on a roll. I will be writing on it tomorrow though, so you can expect another update no later than Friday. I expect to be finished with the whole story by this weekend.

Please continue to comment and review. I really appreciate it! Now, without further adieu, here is Chapter 3. Enjoy! ^_^

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**Chapter 3**

~One Month Later~

_She smiled at him, reaching up to take the goggles off his forehead and lay them on the nightstand. He could feel her chest rising and receding under his, the cloth from their shirts already getting clingy with sweat from the warm night. He wrapped his arms underneath her and pulled her up to him, slowly working over her lips as she ran her hands up and down his back and through his hair._

_He laid her back down and started kissing her cheek, then below her ear, then her neck and down to her collarbone. He stopped at the top of her tank top and looked up at her, not wanting to just assume..._

_She grinned and pushed up on his chest, making them both sit up. She gave him a sexy smirk that made his stomach flip before raising her arms above her head. He grinned and grasped the bottom edges of her shirt and lifted them up slowly, letting his hands slide up her sides before slipping it over her head._

Black bra... oh God help me...

_He kissed her again, laying them back down, his hands all over her. She slid hers down his back and grabbed the edges of his shirt, giving them a slight tug. He disengaged himself from her mouth just long enough to grin before she pulled his shirt up. They broke the kiss again as she tried pulling the shirt over his head. It stuck for a second before slipping over and down his arms. She chuckled as she pulled it free, looking at the shirt then him._

_He smiled slightly. _"What?"

_She chuckled. _"I always knew you had a big head."

God, her voice is like silk_._

_She tossed the shirt away as he continued making his way down her front, kissing every inch of her skin across her collarbone, under her chin, and back down to the edges of her bra. He pressed his lips right between her breasts and could literally feel her heartbeat speed up._

_He felt her fingers tangle in his hair as h__e kissed farther down, stopping at her navel and letting his hands run over her long, toned legs. He looked up to her face. Her head was back and she was breathing heavy. He moved up her body and claimed her mouth once more. When he pulled back, the look on her face said it all. She took off her bra and underwear, moving further down into the bed. He slid out of his boxers before wrapping his arms around her again._

_He looked at her._

_She nodded. _

_He moved. _

_She gasped._

_Everything began to melt away: the war, the Locust, all the pain and loss. All that existed was Sam, wrapped in his arms; her own latched onto his back as he moved against her. He pulled back to look at her, their noses practically touching. They locked lips, both barely able to breathe. Picking up the pace, he buried his face in her hair._

"...Damon..."_ She groaned in his ear, her fingers gripping his now sweaty hair. _

_She'd never said his name. Ever. His heart did a somersault._

_He kissed her neck and whispered things in her ear that he couldn't even hear._

Faster. Harder.

_She suddenly tensed and dug her fingers into his back, her breath and whispers of his name coming out in hard gasps. He responded in kind and grasped the sheets and mattress beneath them._

Yes.

That's.

It.

Just.

A Little.

More.

THERE!_  
_

_He felt a deep growl escape his mouth. She let out a throaty, prolonged gasp that seemed to fill the room. His whole body felt tense for a full ten seconds then everything relaxed at once. He fell to his elbows to keep from fully collapsing on her and let his head fall to her shoulder, feeling her hands run through his hair._

_He pulled back and looked at her: her dark hair matted, her skin beading with sweat from the heat and tension of the moment. Her chest rubbed against his as their heartbeats thumped in their ears. Running a hand over her cheek, he studied her face and shook his head. _

"What?" _she whispered breathlessly._

_He gave her a tired but happy grin and ran his hand over her hair and cheek once more._

"You are so beautiful, Sam." _She blinked once before giving him the most radiant smile he'd ever seen. He couldn't keep the goofy one off his own face. She reached up and touched his cheek._

"Baird..." _she whispered before leaning up to kiss him. He kissed her back slowly for what seemed like hours then wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. She draped her arms across his back and kept saying his name in his ear._

_Baird..._

_Baird._

Baird!

"BAIRD! Hey buddy, you up yet?" Baird jolted awake, soaked with sweat. He looked around and found he was alone.

_Damn it! That friggin' dream _again_... _

"Baaaiiirrrdddd." He looked up just in time to see Cole's figure outlined in his window.

"Yeah I'll be right out. Just give me a minute." Baird sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed, trying to shake the images of his night with Sam out of his head. His heart was still racing a bit and his shirt clung to him. Even now, he could still feel her breath on his ear and the smoothness of her skin. He hadn't been kidding when he'd told the guys that it was the best night he'd ever spent with a woman.

_Hell, it's been a month and I'm still reliving it in my dreams almost every night_... _damn it_.

He stood and stretched before walking over to his makeshift closet/dresser thing he'd found in the outpost up the road. They'd recently relocated closer to the factory he, Cole, Marcus, and Carmine had gone to for supplies a few weeks back. When they'd gotten there, they had not only found an old shoe and leather factory, but also a well-kept old ghost town barely a mile away. It had electricity, clean running water – _hot_ water, at that – decent houses, fortified walls, and a decent patch of pasture another half a mile out from the town to grow crops. They'd even found a few animals there, meaning someone must have just recently left the place.

He smirked. _As Cole would put it, _"_we struck gold, son."_

He rummaged through the drawers looking for something with sleeves. The weather was starting to change and the mornings and evenings were pretty cool. He was more than likely going to have tower duty today too, so it's not like he could do a lot of moving around to keep himself warm.

"Hey Baird! Seriously, man, we're gonna miss out on all the bacon!" Carmine's voice rang from outside the other window. Baird shook his head.

_Heh...that kid and bacon..._ He slipped on his shirt and pants while a memory came up in his mind.

_"Ohhhh heh heh heh I'll give you a side of bacon for _her_, though." The creepy-ass Stranded guy they'd first encountered in Hanover had been leering at Sam. Carmine had chimed in, groaning at his memories of bacon._

_"Hey take the deal, Cole. I haven't had bacon in six months." _

Baird shook his head. Even though he'd only been kidding about trading Sam for a slice of bacon, the thought still set off a painful _pang_ in his chest. Almost everything reminded him of her nowadays, so all the craziness in the two years she'd spent with Delta before the end of the war was surfacing daily in his mind. They hadn't always been good times... but still...

He gave a sad sigh. _At least we were still talking back then._

He sat down on the bed, moving to lace up his boots. It had been a month since that morning he'd woken up next to her; one long, friggin' awful month. They never said a word to each other unless they had to. They never volunteered to go on runs together. She'd made sure her house was clear on the other side of the town from his. He'd even noticed that they'd both taken to trying to stagger their arrivals at meals, so one would be leaving when the other came in.

It was miserable. She'd been a part of his life for over two years now, almost as long as Marcus and the rest of the Delta. Regardless of how he felt about her, he just plain _missed_ her: their antagonistic banter; the friction; even PTs together – she was always a faster runner and had way more endurance than him, but she always seemed to find a way to motivate him through as many laps as it took for the day, usually through abuse and teasing. But, if he could be honest, he missed just being able to be around her without feeling like there was a whole squadron of purple, one-eyed Boomers in the room.

_Shit... _

He let out a heavy, defeated sigh and moved to the mirror to try and tame his hair with some water and a comb. He knew he needed to do something; he couldn't take this anymore.

_I need to talk to her... or I need to just go. This isn't healthy for the group or for us. I don't want people to start having to pick sides or some bullshit like that. We're a team and if there's a weak spot in a team line-up, you either reinforce with more training or switch up the players._

Baird stopped for a second before snatching up his goggles. _Damn it, I'm turning into Cole. _As painful as he knew it would be, he'd see if he could find a way to talk to her alone soon. One way or another, this was going to be settled.

Baird stepped out into the sunlight, blinking against the brightness.

"Heh heh, hey, baby, need me to wake you up there, Sleeping Beauty?" Baird made a face at Cole before looking to his left. Carmine was leaning against the side of the house, chuckling through that damn helmet.

_Jesus, what does he sleep in that thing?!_

Baird groaned against the sudden onslaught of images now pouring into his mind. "I swear to God, Cole, if you or Carmine try to fucking kiss me..."

"Nah," Carmine exclaimed, shifting his feet, "It's obviously after midnight now, sweetheart. I'll just wait until you get dressed for the ball tonight then we can go make out in the pumpkin.

Baird shot Carmine a look. "That's Cinderella, you friggin' moron." He shot Cole a look that said "don't ask me how I know that."

"What?! Nah..." Carmine tilted his head, thinking, and then shrugged off from the siding. "Ahhh fuck it. I always thought Jasmine was the hottest anyway." He walked away.

Baird cocked an eyebrow at Cole before yelling after Carmine. "Oh really? I thought you would have liked Ariel instead. You know, the 16 year old, _red-headed_ one, who's half naked all the time." Cole died laughing as Carmine raised his right arm and shot them the bird as he stalked off.

They followed after him in the direction of the amazing smelling food coming from a few meters ahead. The town had an old restaurant with a working stove that now served as Delta's cooking facility, meeting place for updates from Anvil Gate, and station assignments every day. They had affectionately christened it "the Chow Hall."

Cole wiped his eye with his finger as his laughter subsided. "It's true though. That boy better make a move before she gets away." Baird glanced at his friend and was met by that annoyingly knowing look Cole gave him on a regular basis now. "You still having that dream, Damon?"

Baird just gave a short wincing smile and nodded.

"Then you definitely need to talk to her, man. I mean, how much longer are you two gonna sulk around camp and play hide and seek with no 'it'?"

"I know. I know." He shook his head. "I just don't know _how_ to start into it."

Cole clapped him on the shoulder. "Easy. You walk up to her house, knock on the door, and say 'Sam, baby, we need to have a talk.'"

Baird smirked at him. "Yeah, Cole, I think the 'Sam, baby' part is going to go over _great_ coming from me."

Cole nudged him so hard he almost fell over. "Baird..."

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "All right, all right. I'll see what our stations are today and go from there. Ok? You happy?"

Cole grinned and nodded. "I am if you are, brother."

Baird sighed as they walked up the steps and through the double doors. "Yeah... I'm working on that."

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Hope you enjoyed it! Chapter 4 should be up within a couple of days. Keep reviewing and giving me feedback. I love it! Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4 - The Hole That Remains

Hello again! As always, thanks to you guys for your reviews and messages. I'm loving hearing from you guys!

**UPDATE: **This should be the second to last chapter. I had originally toyed around with having an epilogue of sorts, but I threw that idea out and instead plan to include that little bit in the last chapter.

Again, this chapter was originally planned to be shorter than it became but I figured since Baird got a whole chapter of his own, Sam should too, though there is a bit of Baird at the end to set up the last chapter. Chapter 5 should be up by Friday; potentially tomorrow depending on how much I get finished tonight.

Well here's Chapter 4! Hope you guys like it! Enjoy! ^_^

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**Chapter 4**

_Uggh thank God for bacon._

Sam grinned as she stepped into the Chow Hall and up to the serving table. THere were only a couple of bowls of eggs and two plates of weird shaped bacon, but compared to what they'd been living off of for the last two months it looked like they were eating at a five-star restaurant. Looking away from the practically gourmet breakfast laid out before her, she turned her attention to some off tune humming going on in the back room.

Sam knocked her spoon against her plate and waved to Dizzy through the kitchen-ordering window. "You're a miracle worker, Diz." He bowed to her, continuing to dance to some music only he could hear.

She spooned a decent portion of eggs and bacon onto her plate. She had never been so happy to see a pig or chickens in her life than the day they had moved their base up here and explored some of the outlying bits. A few pigs, about ten cows, a couple of chickens and a rooster had been just milling around at the farmhouse down the road. The farm looked recently deserted, so they weren't worried about stealing someone else's food; though they were all so tired of eating the few veggies they could grow, lizard, and pidgeon, they probably wouldn't have been that worked up about it if they had, sadly enough.

She smiled to herself as she sat down with her plate, remembering walking towards the barn for the first time after hearing Carmine yell for them.

_"Ahh man, we hit the jackpot, you guys. Check this out!" He'd swung the doors open to display the animals in their pins. She and Cole had stood in awe at the front of the barn; completely ignoring the typical animal smells bombarding them all at once._

_"WHOO! You know it, baby! Breakfast and burgers, here we come! Ohhh let's make steak and eggs the first chance we get." Cole had given Carmine a huge high five and walked farther into the barn. Sam had started after him when Baird's head had poked up out of the stall with one of the cows._

_"Uggh yes steak, _please_! Thank God! I haven't a good steak in...a really _REALLY_ long time." He'd_ _smiled at Cole, who by then was doing his touchdown dance down the center of the barn. He'd turned to Carmine. "And guess what, Carmine? You finally get to drink your milk every morning again so you can get big and strong just like your mommy said you would."_

_Carmine had laughed and flicked him off before turning to her. "Hey Sam, what do you want first?" She had shifted a bit as she glanced towards Baird, seeing that he wasn't looking at her either. _

_She gave Carmine a small smile. __"Oh...definitely bacon." It took Carmine a second to remember the little dialogue in Hanover, but when he did, he died laughing._

_"All right, all right! Touché!" She'd smiled as best she could and said she was going to go and check out the actual residence just off to the right for supplies. Carmine and Cole waved from their examination of the chickens as she'd turned to leave, but she could feel a pair of eyes on her back as she walked away._

Sam stared down at that bacon now and gave a half-hearted sigh. When Carmine had asked what she wanted, her first thought hadn't been food at all. Her glance at Baird had been involuntary.

_I just want to be friends again..._

She stuffed some eggs into her mouth, even though she was quickly losing her appetite. The past month had been like living in Hell. Almost every night, she had had one dream or another about Baird, whether it was flashes from their night together or some of the times they'd had over the last two years. She hated it. She felt empty every time she woke up from one of them.

_It's like there's this...goddamn Baird-shaped hole in my life... and it's even more annoying than he is!_

She grimaced at her reflection in the spoon. She knew she needed to grow a pair and just talk to him but she rarely even caught of glimpse of him anymore. He was spending every free moment he had in that workshop of his.

_Figures. Tinkering always did help keep his mind off things...Wish I could find some things to set in my sights from the Tower. That would help put my mind at ease._ _And besides, like I'd know what to say if I _did_ get a chance to talk with him. He probably hates me. I practically castrated him that morning and I honestly expect us to ever get back to the way things were?_

Her stomach churned but not from the food.

_I guess I should just face facts: we're never going to get over this. Which is a goddamn shame, you know... I actually _miss _that blonde haired bastard._

"Hey, Sam!" A voice jolted Sam out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Anya sitting down in front of her. Sam mustered a smile.

"Morning, love. How are ya?"

Anya nodded, slowly chewing her food. "I'm fine. Are you?

Sam tried her best to play it cool. "Yeah why do you ask?" She shoved another spoonful of eggs into her mouth.

Anya just raised an eyebrow at her and cast a glance around to see if anyone was listening. Sam did the same and saw Marcus was standing up at the food window talking to Dizzy.

"You just seem a bit distant today. Everything ok?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah I mean... as fine as it has been, I guess."

Anya's face fell a bit. "Sam, don't you think maybe it's time to talk to Baird and get past this. Every day, you two look more and more miserable."

Sam just stared at her friend for a moment. _And what the hell do I say to him to make this better? I fuckin' blew it and I don't know what to do._

Sam opened her mouth to say something, but, before she could get anything out, they both heard something from down the street.

"Oh really? I thought you would have liked Ariel instead. You know, the 16 year old, _red-headed_ one, who's half naked all the time." Cole's boisterous laughter filled the street outside.

_Shit, Baird's coming._

Sam tried not to look like she was panicking as she quickly tried to devour the last few bites on her plate. Anya was leaning away from the table, trying to see what was going on. "The hell...? What was that all about?"

Marcus set his plate down beside her. "Ariel... you know, from that mermaid movie." Anya and Sam just looked at him for a second as he sat down, Anya desperately trying and failing to keep a grin off her face.

Marcus just looked at her with his normal, stoic look and shrugged. "What? Sylvia liked princess movies."

Anya just shook her head as she stood up. "Right and I'm sure Daddy Dom and Uncle Marcus just _hated_ having to watch them with her." Leaning over his massive shoulder, she gave him a light kiss him on the cheek.

Marcus shot her a snarky look over his shoulder as she walked over to get more water; she winked at him and grinned. He turned back and glanced at Sam. "Only when she made us sing along with her."

Sam cracked a smile as she stood up to take her plate to the back room sink. They all took turns cooking every two days. Whoever had cooking duty prepared the food for breakfast and dinner – there were always leftovers from some other meal, so people came in and made lunch when it suited their duties for the day - cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and wiped down the tables after both meals. It wasn't that bad actually. It meant you could get out of the sun for a while and, when it was cold, you had a warm spot to work.

Sam smiled at Dizzy as she walked in. "How's the morning been treating ya, Diz?"

He smiled and nodded. "Oh it's been going well. I was actually in a cooking mood this morning when I woke up, so HA! Luck's been on my side with the duty roster this week."

She smiled. Dizzy was a lot like Cole; no matter how shitty your mood or how good the day was going, the two of them could always find a way to make it better. She guessed it was their cheery natures.

_Or could be their smiles,_ Sam thought as she saw Dizzy grinning like a madman at a pan of eggs he was scrambling. She patted him on the back. "Well I'm off to the Tower."

Dizzy nodded. "Let me know if you need someone to come rescue you or something, Princess." She gave him a playful shove.

"Dizzy, you're such a flirt. First Anya, now me. Tsk tsk tsk shame on you." He laughed at that.

He turned towards the window. She followed his gaze and could see goggles bobbing around near the table.

_Shit... Baird's already here. I don't want to fuck up breakfast for everyone... Better slip out quick._

Dizzy's voice brought her back. "Well after I lost my Betty, I just haven't had a good woman to call my own anymore. Kinda runnin' outta gals to tease though. I figure Baird's next on my list but don't tell him. I wanna watch him freak out when I start pulling his leg. HA!"

Sam bristled slightly at the thought of flirting with Baird. "Your secret's safe with me, Diz."

Dizzy didn't miss her reaction. He nodded towards the cupboard behind him. "Mind grabbing me a bowl outta there for these things, madam?" Sam reached over and handed him a big green glass bowl. He held onto it for a second and made her look at him.

"Sammy, I'm sure you and Baird will work something out and get back to normal in no time. Don't worry yourself over it too much, all right?" He offered her a warm, hopeful smile. She returned one of her own as best she could. She wasn't going to ask how he knew. Dizzy, again like Cole, could sense things and put two and two together when they didn't even know what they were adding.

"All right. Thanks, Dizzy." He nodded and turned back to his eggs as Sam headed out of the kitchen. She could now hear Carmine, Cole, Baird, and Jace all talking about their favorite movie princesses. Marcus looked mildly bored but she could tell he was still listening to the conversation. Anya was practically crying from laughing so hard. Sam felt her stomach drop. She missed the easiness of their crazy, misfit family.

_I miss the way things were..._ She sighed and decided to slip out the back door. She didn't want to ruin anyone's fun by being noticed.

She ran by her house to picked up her trusty rifle then made her way to the Tower. The Tower wasn't really that; it was just the name they'd given to the little open windowed building that sat on top of the roof of a tall building at the edge of town. There were two, actually; one at each side of town, so normally two people had tower duty. She'd been assigned to the West Tower, so she overlooked the last section of the Deadlands they'd occupied, making sure no one was following them or trying to sneak up from the cliffs just down the range. No one had so far, but they stayed vigilant regardless.

Once she'd climbed the stairs and made her way across the roof, she opened the door and looked around, making sure the place hadn't been overrun with ants like the loo in the first place they'd camped at.

_I swear, if I never see another ant, it'll be too soon._

She looked around the 10'x10' room. They had moved a table up there with some of the extra chairs from the Chow Hall. It wasn't unheard of for folks on their rest day to come and keep Tower assignees company. A pack of playing cards was open on the desk next to a few sheets of paper with initials and tallies. She grinned as she saw the letter "C" had no tallies underneath it.

_Ha! Carmine either sucks at poker or is the best player alive._

There was also a stack of six or seven books against the wall on top of the table, though she didn't know if anyone had actually read them. They were mostly those old paperback romance novels. She picked one up and looked at the cover: the woman's dress was falling off her shoulders as some steroid-injected man with no shirt and long dark hair clasped her to him. Sam laughed.

_Christ... you'd think with the world gone to shit, people would use _these_ books as kindling before the intellectual one... or hell, I'd do with a decent sci-fi novel._

She pulled up a chair and laid her gun against the wall next to her, putting her feet up one of the other chairs strewn about the room. Thoughts of the conversation she'd overheard at breakfast suddenly wandered back into her mind. She felt a _pang_ of guilt when she remembered Baird's pained smile on his face.

_Hmm... seems neither of us can muster a full smile anymore_. She kicked herself mentally. _Bugger this..._

She looked out across the dusty plains beneath her. The sun was barely up above the buildings. She let out a heavy, frustrated sigh.

_It's going to be a long friggin' day._

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Back in the Chow Hall, Baird was finishing up his last bite of food. Though he was only one of three people left, he looked around as casually as he could. He knew he'd seen Sam walking towards the kitchen when he and Cole had walked in but he hadn't seen her after that.

_She probably slipped out the back. Wouldn't be the first time..._

He made a face and stood up to give Dizzy his plate. "Tasty as always, Diz. Thanks!"

Dizzy tipped his hat to him. "Thank you, sir. Glad you enjoyed it. I'll see you at dinner."

Baird nodded then walked over to check the station sheet. He'd been on Tower duty three days ago and figured he'd get it again since he had just come off a supply run shift. He scanned over the sheet and didn't see his name until he got to the bottom: Rest Day.

Cole came up behind him. "Ohhh ho, a rest day! You're lucky, Baird. I've got gardening today. Gotta see if I can find my sun hat."

As Cole walked over to help Dizzy clear a few more plates, Baird looked back at the sheet. He ran his eyes over it and saw that Sam had gotten Tower Duty - West.

_Right...right._

He grimaced then set his shoulders as he followed Cole out of the Hall.

"So whatcha gonna do with your day off, son?"

Baird looked up towards the West Tower. He could just make out someone moving around inside. He turned back to Cole, who was watching him with that damn look on his face.

_I swear he practices that thing in the mirror._

Baird glanced back towards her Tower for a second before cocking an eyebrow at Cole.

"I'm gonna go have a talk with Sam." Cole clapped him on the back.

"Sounds like a good plan, brother. Give her a hug for me." Baird sighed and rolled his eyes. Cole laughed and turned to head towards the fields then stopped a few steps ahead. "Oh and, Damon, good luck." Baird nodded as Cole walked away.

_Yeah thanks_, he thought, as he started walking around the backside of the Tower, _I have a feeling I'm going to need it._

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Thanks for reading! Hope to have Chapter 5 up soon! Please continue to review and comment! Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5 - Unexpectations

Hello again! Let me say one more time how grateful I am to the folks who've been reviewing and messaging me comments about this story. I've really enjoyed talking with you guys and appreciate the feedback. I hope this final chapter lives up to the expectations we've been building towards since Chapter 1.

There actually was a funny moment last night that I thought I'd share. Whenever I'm writing a story and I stop to skim over what I've already written, I usually have music on in the background. Well, when I was editing certain parts of this chapter, the songs "Accidentally in Love" and David Archuleta's "Crush" came on right after each other. And I was like "Are you serious?!" hahaha it's too perfect for these two!

Well, here it is: the final installment of this story. I am almost sad to see this story end, but I think the ending actually turned out quite well. As always, I tried to keep the characters as close to their game selves as possible. Please review and comment as always. I'd really like to know what you think of this chapter and the story overall.

Enjoy! ^_^

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**Chapter 5**

Baird made his way up the stairs of West Tower, wracking his brain as to how to start up the conversation with Sam. A part of him just wanted to walk in, sit her down, and declare that they needed to talk.

_Of course another part of me wants to kick the door in, walk right up to her, and kiss her full on the mouth, but somehow I don't think that would go over very well._

He growled to himself as he rounded the final corner and walked out onto the roof. He could see the building across the way. His hands suddenly started sweating. He walked up to the door and stood there for a second.

_'Hey... Sam, there's something I... Sam I think we _really_ need...' _He hung his head. _Oh my God, t__his is going to be friggin' awful!_

He sighed. _Just go in and be upfront about it. There's no point in beating around the bush. We've never done that anyway so that'll be one step towards normalcy._

He took a deep breath and knocked.

"Yeah, it's open. Come on in." Baird swallowed and turned the knob. She had her back to him, her feet propped up in a chair, one of those paperback books in her lap.

_Uggh God how am I going to...?_

She gave a short laugh and threw the book back onto the table, turning around as she spoke.

"You know, Diz, when you said you'd come rescue me from the Tower, I thought you meant you'd climb up the side like - " she stopped short as she turned and saw Baird standing there, "like in... Rapunzel."

_On the other hand, sometimes an opening presents itself..._

Her smile didn't really fade so much as freeze. She stood up and ran a hand over her hair, like she was worried it was messed up. "Baird..."

He grimaced. "That's the... uh, yeah it's me. I... I was wondering if you'd like a bit of company. I'm apparently resting today." She stayed put for a second and he could tell she was working out how to react.

He grasped for something, _anything_, to break the awkwardness. "Unless, of course," he walked over to the table and picked up the book she'd tossed aside, "you'd like me to leave you to your, uh, academic reading." She looked at the book in his hand then back to him before letting out a short scoff. The sides of her mouth even quirked. He gave himself a mental high five.

_Yesss! Progress!_

She looked back to him, the quirked smile still there. "Yeah all right. Have a seat." He tossed the book back on the table and pulled up a chair diagonal from her. He wanted to be facing her to judge her reactions but he knew she technically still needed to see out and do her job, despite the fact that _everyone _knew nothing ever happened on Tower duty.

_Of course, knowing my luck, the Locusts will have survived the Lambent blast and will begin their second invasion this morning._

They sat there in silence for a minute, making eye contact then looking away. Baird fidgeted in his seat, not sure what to do.

_Just say something, man. Maybe since it's just us, it won't be as awkward..._

Baird decided to go for it. "So, uh, what's this about Dizzy rescuing you from the Tower?"

She blinked at him then gave a short laugh. "Oh, ha! No, when I gave him my plate this morning and told him I was off to the Tower, he offered to come rescue me if I needed it. I figured it was him playing along at the door."

He nodded. "Well you know the Rapunzel thing wouldn't have worked." She glanced at him sharply. "What? Your hair's too short."

She gave him a wry look. "Yeah, about that..." She turned towards him a bit.

_Good sign. Comfortable body language..._

"What is this thing with all you guys knowing about Ariel and Rapunzel and all that shit all of a sudden? What brought that on?"

Baird grimaced and sat back, looking out the window a bit. "Uh Cole and Carmine decided to be my wake up call this morning. And when I came out, Cole asked if he needed to wake up Sleeping Beauty... which, in this case, was me. Carmine made a false reference to Cinderella, I called him out on it..." He looked back at her. Her eyebrow was cocked and she was giving him a look. "What?"

"You're avoiding the question."

He glanced around. "No I'm not."

Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah you are. The question was, how do you guys know about these girls in the first place?"

He looked at her for a minute, trying to figure out what she was up to. _This is Sam. We might not have been talking for a month and a week, but she's still the same person. She's _always _up to something._

Then it clicked. "Wait... you're just trying to get me to admit that I've seen those movies, aren't you?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I don't know. Have you?"

He glared at her. "Maybe."

She shrugged. "Whatever. It's your dirty little secret." She turned back towards the window, a small but sarcastic smile etched on her lips.

He tried stoking the fire. "You're just mad because I remembered Rapunzel better than you."

She shot him a look. "Well you would know it better than me, wouldn't you, Baird?" Her mouth did that quirk again but he couldn't help but notice her slight twinge when she said his name. His heart sank a bit.

_Ugh, all right, here we go..._

He sighed. "Yeah... yeah I would. Look, Sam..." She turned her head towards him, her eyebrows raised but her look was more patience than anything. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Sam, we need to talk. Ok I mean... this is..." She watched him as he searched for the words.

_This is...what? Fucking miserable, annoying, painful, getting old, killing me... uggh!_

He looked up to see she was still watching him, though her expression was unreadable. He gave a frustrated sigh. "This is getting ridiculous. I mean..." He tried not to sound bitter but his words still tasted of it. "I mean, you do realize this is the first actual conversation we've had in a whole month... and we're arguing about friggin' fairytales, right?"

Sam dropped her gaze to the floor. "Yeah." She swallowed, hard.

He couldn't read her and it was pissing him off. "Sam..." He inched closer to her in his seat. "Sam...we've got to figure some way past this. I mean, this past month-" he paused, trying to word it right so he didn't sound like he was fantasizing about her all month. He lowered his head and ran his hand over his hair. He could feel her eyes now boring into his head.

He looked back up at her, trying to keep his voice calm. "This past month has been friggin' awful. I mean, the awkwardness, the avoidance. For God's sake, we haven't even made this much eye contact since that morning." She winced a bit but said nothing.

He shook his head. "Look, all I'm saying is we've got to get past this, ok? If not for us, then for the group because this is going to cause rifts eventually."

Still, she said nothing. He was trying his best not to get annoyed.

"Look, we..." he ran his hand through his hair again and lowered his voice a bit, "...we don't even have to talk about us sleeping together. All right, if it upsets you _that_ much, we'll just act like it never happened."

His heart contracted at that. _If that's what it takes to get you to just _look_ at me again..._

He looked up to her, trying to keep a pained expression off his face, but he felt like he was failing. She met his eyes, looking like she was processing something.

He gave a slight sigh. "I just... I just need to know if we can get past this."

_Because it's kiling me._

He wouldn't let her look away. She stared at him for a minute, brow slightly furrowed.

"Can we get past this, Sam? It doesn't matter how."

She blinked a few times, seeming a bit confused, and then opened her mouth. Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "I don't know..."

He tried to stop it but he felt his face fall a bit. She gave him a pained look as she swallowed and sat forward, head in her hands. Baird was frozen. He couldn't tell exactly what he was feeling, if he was feeling anything. He could hardly breathe.

He choked up enough to speak. "...Why?"

She shook her head, dropping her hands to her knees but still unable to look him in the eye. He just looked at her for a minute, wanting her to say something... _needing_ her to say something.

But she didn't. And suddenly, Baird felt angrier, more hurt, and confused than he did that morning and the whole month combined.

He shook his head and huffed, getting to his feet. "Fine. You know what? Forget it." He felt his voice crack a bit. She looked up at him, confusion plastered all over her face, eyes glassy. "Just forget I said anything, forget we ever slept together, and forget whatever I said that morning, ok? I'll see you around." He took a few steps towards the door.

A chair scraped the floor behind him. "Where the _bloody hell_ do you think you're going?" He turned and saw her standing with her hands as fists at her sides. Her face looked livid but also something else he couldn't quite place.

He shook himself. _The fuck do I care how she looks at me?!_

He turned. "I'm leaving. There's no point in staying if you don't want to talk about this."

She scrunched up her face. "Who says I don't want to talk about this?"

"You obviously. You won't even look me in the eye or say anything."

She gave him an indignant scoff. "Well, forgive me, Mr. Eloquence, for being caught a little off-guard by your sudden appearance and not knowing what the fuck to say right off the top of my bloody head!"

Baird opened his mouth to retort but she cut him off. "Although I guess it does make sense, right? You don't get the answer you like, so you're going to just walk out? _AGAIN?!_"

He felt his neck start to warm up. He was getting pissed. He took a step towards her, shock overtaking his face. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

She waved him off. "Oh you know damn well. I don't fall into your arms after we sleep together and you walk out. You come up here, wanting to drag the whole damn thing out into the open. I don't fall weeping at your feet, begging you to take me back and what do you do? You friggin' walk out!"

Baird's mouth fell open. "Well, aren't we full of ourselves today, Miss Perfect. You really think I came up here expecting you to beg? For anything, let alone for me to take you back? Ha! Now that's _priceless_!"

Her anger took over her face for keeps. She took two steps towards him. "You heartless piece of shit. Do you honestly think that you're the only one who's been miserable this whole month? Huh? This has been the worst month of my life, so don't you dare stand there and suggest the weight of this whole thing is completely on you!"

That piqued his interest but his frustration didn't wane in the least. "Oh yeah? Why? Why have _you_ been miserable, Sam?"

He saw her blush for a split second – or was she just super pissed? – as she squared her shoulders. "I don't see why it matters since we're _obviously_ both too fragile and uncomfortable to talk about that night!"

Baird just looked at her a second, trying to shake the confusion from his mind. "Fine, then we'll talk about it! Want to do rock, paper, scissors to see who goes first? Or maybe I should just go, since it was my balls and guts that were kicked in."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Ahh here we go again. That's the whole issue right there, isn't it? This whole thing – the sex, this month, now this peace making talk you've prepped for – it's really about you, eh? Restoring your precious ego?"

_THAT'S IT! _Baird couldn't take it anymore. He took a slow step towards her, all rage.

"Look," he said, his voice tight and low, "I don't care what you say or what you think or even what you do from this point on, but I did _not_ come up here to restore my 'damaged ego.' That bitch has so many dents from other girls I've dated, I don't even feel it anymore. This month was about giving you space because you _clearly_ didn't want – and obviously _still_ do not want - anything to do with me in that area."

He took another step towards her. His throat was getting tight. "But I will _NOT_ stand here and listen to you say that I had sex with you because I wanted some sort of conqueror's trophy. I slept with you that night, because I like you, Sam. I have _always_ liked you and, for a few brief hours, it was nice to think that you might actually like me too."

He took a few heavy breaths, trying to calm himself down. "I know it freaks you the fuck out, but that's the way it is. Oh, and for the record, _that_ is the only reason I walked out that morning the way I did. Not because you 'bruised my ego' but because reality came crashing back down when you shoved my feelings back in my face. So there was nothing else for me to do _but_ leave."

He just stood there shaking while he watched her process what he'd said. He was still mad but he could feel the adrenaline starting to drain out of him.

She crossed her arms and stared him down, her voice about as tight as his was. "You know, you really are a piece of work, Baird. You always think you know everything. And it's the most annoying part about you. You've never asked for my thoughts on our friendship or how I think of you, period. So how the bloody hell do you know how I feel about anything?"

Baird shook his head at her. "Uh, Sam, you expressed your feelings pretty well that morning. I believe your exact words were, 'But I don't even like you,' implying not only a romantic disgust but a friendship one as well. How much more blatant can you get?!"

She dropped her arms and squared her shoulders. "How dare you stand there and preach that you understand _my _feelings when the only time we've ever talked... hell the _only_ normal, non-badgering conversation we've ever had in the two and half years we've known each other -was the morning that I woke up next to you without a fucking clue how we wound up there?" She stopped and just looked at him. He could feel the confusion starting to creep back into his face. The anger was even starting to give way to it.

She angrily put her hands on her hips and started pacing away. "Look, I freaked out because I didn't know what the hell was going on or how I could have ended up in bed with you. _YOU! _Of all people. I thought I'd made a mistake. And when you walked out, I knew I had."

His temper flared. "Me of all people, huh? Well sorry I walked out and made you question your judgment. I mean, God forbid, you should have a regret!"

She turned around so fast it almost made him jump. "You..." She let out a scoff. "Well I'm sorry for hurting your precious feelings. Took you long enough to come out and say them."

Baird moved around the chairs betwee, fists clenched. "Well, at least I _can_ say them. You certainly haven't been proving me wrong there. Can you even have feelings for anyone but Dom?"

The words were out of his mouth before he registered them in his head. He kept his face set but he knew that if there was a line for her, he'd probably just hurtled over it. She dropped her hands by her side as fists, looking like she might deck him any minute. She was seething.

"You are such an _ass_, Baird!"

He matched her stance and her anger. "Yeah I am. But at least I'm an ass who isn't afraid to express his feelings!"

"Who the hell said that I am?!"

"You might as well have, you crazy chic!"

She took a half step towards him. "Well guess what? I like you, you arrogant asshole"

"Yeah well I like you too!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

He could only describe what happened next as spontaneous yet synchronized sexual combustion. As soon as the word left her mouth, Sam lunged for him, grabbing his face and crashing his mouth against hers. As she'd lunged, he did the same thing, grabbing her hips and ramming them up against his. He couldn't believe a nose wasn't broken when they collided. They devoured each other, their hands unable to stay still, running all over in a frenzy. After a minute, he backed her up against the closest wall and grabbed her face. She moaned against his mouth as her hands moved to his waist and up his back. The intensity never let up; it was overwhelming. After a few minutes, they finally came up for air.

Baird pulled back and looked at her: her eyes wild, chest heaving. He imagined he looked about the same. His expression mellowed slightly as he saw something pass across her face, though he couldn't tell if it was want or need.

He stroked her cheek and leaned back in, capturing her mouth again, but a bit slower this time, methodical. He kept one hand on her face while the other moved to her back. She slid a hand up his chest to rest on his neck while the other stayed at his waist. They stood like that for what felt like hours.

But soon they had to breathe again, so they parted, not stepping back. They locked eyes, and he desperately tried to read her expression. She was searching his face too, and after a minute, a helpless grin slid onto her face. He blinked at her, confused.

She touched his face. "Baird..." she whispered as she glanced down at his mouth then slowly over his face, back up to his eyes. He wet his lips, not sure what to do. She gave him a small shrug.

"I'm sorry," she barely whispered. "I'm sorry I hurt you. That morning..." She sighed and lay her head back slightly against the wall. "I've wanted nothing more than to take that whole morning back. I just... I'm not used to being caught off guard. I mean, you know me: I'm always prepared for anything." She looked up and touched his face again, running her hand over his cheek. "But I wasn't prepared for any of what happened that night. And I especially wasn't prepared for what I felt."

He looked past her to the wall then back to her. "You mean weren't prepared for confusion, panic, being weirded out, and how it felt waking up to next to a gorgeous human being?"

She cocked her eyebrow at that last bit. "No." She gave him a wry smile. "I wasn't prepared... for my own feelings... about you."

Baird felt his brow furrow. "You mean... you _knew_ that you felt something for me and you _still _dropkicked me in the balls?"

She let out a laugh. "No no no. Right after I said that and you left, I realized how much I liked you as a friend. And that made what I did bad enough. The realization about the romantic bit came a few days later." She pushed herself back against the wall a bit. "I'm so sorry, Baird."

He half smiled at her. "It's ok. I shouldn't have stomped off like I did. Or if anything, shouldn't have kept avoiding you once I knew we were going to have to talk about this. I'm sorry too." He gave her a sheepish look. "_And_... I shouldn't have been a sarcastic jackass while you were asking what had happened. I guess that's sort of my default mode nowadays."

Sam grinned. "It's all right, Baird. Surprisingly, that bit was actually comforting. I knew it was still you under all those emotions."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He stepped back and sat down in one of the chairs, running a hand over his hair and neck. "You know, I'm actually a lot more than that. A smart-ass, I mean." He glanced up to she a grin plastered o her face. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I _am_ a friggin' smart-ass, but that's not _all_ I am. I guess it's just a face I put on to keep things at arms length. But..." He sighed and looked up at her. "But I can work on that – being _less_ of a smart-ass – if you think it'll help this along."

She considered him for a minute before shaking her head, a smile breaking out on her face. "Only if _you_ feel like you need to be less of a smart-ass, but you don't need to change yourself for me, Baird. I like you as you are, sarcasm, arrogance, and all." He couldn't keep the slow grin off his face.

He nodded. "Thanks, Sam."

She gave him a half smile. Then after a minute, it took a turn for the wry. "Besides, what is '_this'_ that you would be helping along?"

He blinked before standing up and walking over to her. He looked at her a moment before leaning in and slowly, passionately capturing her mouth. When she kissed him back, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him as her arms came up around his neck. He felt his heart flutter in his chest, his stomach suddenly feeling lighter.

_Goddamn it...I'm in a lot deeper than I'll ever admit._

He pulled away and looked at her before hoarsely whispering, "That."

The look she gave him almost made him pass out. It was affection. It was forgiveness. It was understanding. It was... It was acceptance.

She gave him a smirk as she looked him over. "Ahhh _that_. Well, then you'll probably need the smart-ass in you, because I can be kind of a handful sometimes. A bit irritating. Aggressive. Snarky."

He looked at her with feigned shock. "You? Oh no way."

She gave him a playful punch in the gut. "Yeah, said the pot to the kettle." She grew serious for a moment. "But what I meant... is that I can be quite a bit to contend with personally, or so I've been told before. So I need someone who's up to the challenge."

Baird gave her the most certain look he could as he nodded at her unspoken question. "I'm up to the challenge."

Her eyes shone. She smiled at him slightly. "Yeah?"

He nodded again. "I am if you are."

She leaned in and kissed him lightly, whispering, "okay" against his lips.

He took a step back and grinned, clearing his throat nervously. "Well, I, uh... I guess I better let you get back to work. Wouldn't want Marcus to find out I was up here distracting you all this time." She let out a laugh as she walked back towards the chair near her gun.

"Yeah that's more for your sake than mine, mate. He doesn't hit girls."

Baird nodded and stepped towards the door. "Right. So we're, uh... we're good, right?"

She turned and gave him a look. "Yeah we're good, Baird."

"Good." He flashed her a grin as he turned towards the door.

_Wait, so what the hell are we now? Are we dating? Are we fooling around? Gah after all that, I still have no idea what the fuck is going on?!_

He turned back to her, trying to play it cool. "Uh, I do have one quick question though." She turned in her chair to look at him. "You're not expecting me to be one of those touchy feely, cuddly, feeding each other at dinner time type boyfriends, right?"

Her face fell a bit and his heart stopped. "Well... yeah actually."

His mouth dropped open. He walked over and stood across from her chair. "What?!"

She nodded, her face creased with seriousness. "Yeah you know, cute letters on my doorstep, holding hands in public, making out any chance we get, flowers, all that."

He sat down hard in a chair and leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Ok, the 'making out every chance we get' thing, I can do that. But _flowers_? _Really_? I mean, where the hell am I supposed to get flowers?!"

She spread her arm out towards the window. He just stared at her.

"You're not fucking serious."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

He couldn't believe it. "You're not... Sam, we live in the Deadlands. Sand is about all that grows out here."

She made a face and stood up, not having any of it. "Well, we now have a pasture to grow things. Grow me some goddamn flowers."

He shook his head and sat back in his chair, looking out the window. "I can't fucking believe this. We've just survived the war to end all wars, we're camping out in shacks left by dead Lambent humans, we finally got past the most awkward moment in our friendship, and you want me to - " movement to his right caught his eye. He turned just in time to see Sam turn around, hand over her mouth, shaking with suppressed laughter. When she turned back, her eyes were tearing up.

He shook his head. "Are you _kidding_ me?!" At that, she burst out laughing. He threw his arms up in the air and turned in his chair, facing the window. "I don't fucking believe it. I mean really?" She walked up and stood in front of him, a triumphant grin plastered on her face.

He tilted his head at her, arms crossed. "Really?"

She stepped up beside him then lifted her leg over his before sitting down, straddling his lap. She slid her hands up his chest and shook her head at him.

"I can't believe you fell for that. Your face was priceless." He shot her a look. She just smirked. "But, to answer your quick question: no, Baird, I don't need someone who's constantly trying to hold my hand or buy me gifts. I need someone who is who he is and who is with me. That's it." She raised her eyebrows at him. "That ok with you?"

He nodded and gave her a sheepish grin; still not able to believe he actually fell for her trick. "Yeah, I can do that." She grinned at him before cocking an eyebrow.

She leaned forward, her voice low and silky as hell. "Of course, if you _want_ to be touchy feely..." she let that thought hover as she ran her hands over his chest, up to his neck, and kissed his cheek, jaw, and behind his ear. His hands unfolded themselves and landed on her thighs. She grinned wickedly at him. "Well I'm always game for that."

He let a smirk slide onto his face and looked at her, unable to believe it. "You know... when I came up here, I figured we'd either get in a fight somehow or we wouldn't talk at all and that I'd have to leave. And I was honestly prepared for both of those. But this - " He ran his hands over her thighs and up her back, all the while studying her face. He whispered as she brought her forehead to his, "-but _this_ was definitely unexpected."

She raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, you're telling me. But I sort of like it. Keeps us on our toes."

He looked at her. "So... spontaneity is a good thing? Right, I'm not going to wake up next to you the next time we're together and you freak out again?"

_Or worse, I wake up and find out this was all some really fucked up dream?_

She let out a short laugh and nodded. "Ha no, spontaneity's good." As she leaned in to kiss him, she reached between them and tugged his shirttails from his pants. "Spontaneity's really good."

He smirked against her mouth and moved to undo the belt over her leggings. He sighed despite himself.

_God, can this moment get anymore-_

"Hey Sam!"

_...Perfect._

With a bewildered look, Sam disentangled herself from him and walked over to the window. Cole and Carmine were standing below.

She waved to them. "What's up, Cole?"

"Hey, girl, is, uh,...is Baird up there with you?"

She nodded and grinned. "Yeah he's right here." She jerked her head for him to come over.

Shoving his shirt back into his pants, he walked over and hung his head out. "Yeah what?"

"Just got a call from Hoffman. Apparently a Raven went down a couple of miles from here. No radio contact since the crash. Colonel wants us to check it out. Marcus is putting together a team. You in?"

Baird nodded. "Yeah, when are we leaving?"

"In 20 minutes. Meeting at the Hall."

"All right, I'll be there in a bit."

"And, Sam, he's asked that you stay here with Dizzy and Anya and watch our backs while we're out."

She nodded. "On it, Cole! You guys be safe, you hear?" Carmine saluted as he walked off. Cole grinned up at Baird before following suite.

Baird turned back to Sam and gave her an over-enthusiastic shrug. "Well, honey, I gotta go to work."

She scoffed. "Yeah, don't be home too late. That'll mean I'll have to come pull your ass out of the fire... _again_."

He smirked as he made his way over to the door, Sam close behind him. "Yeah, well, if we need help with our chipped nails when we get back, we know who to call."

Sam shook her head. Reaching out, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her.

"You're still an arrogant ass, you know that, right?"

He gave her a helpless look. "Yeah, that not a mask. It's just a part of who I am. You know, the _whole_ package." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh for the love of God..."

He grinned and leaned a bit closer, putting his hands on her waist. "But as long as I'm _your_ arrogant ass, I'm good."

She leaned in and bumped her forehead against his, a smirk sliding across her face. "Me too, Baird. Me too."

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And that's a wrap! Well for now anyway! I already have a potential sequel in mind, though it might become a hybrid with another story I'm planning to write that coincides with this version of the Post Gears of War 3 timeline that I've started. I've also thought about rewriting this final chapter from Sam's perspective but I don't know if I'll post it or not.

Thank you again for all your support and reviews! I really hope you liked this final installment as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cheers! To you, my friends, and to Sam and Baird!


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